The Flash #78 Review and *SPOILERS*

Race Against the Clock

Written By: Joshua Williamson
Art By: Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Arif Prianto
Letters By: Steve Wands
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 11, 2019

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Ever since the Year One story ended, the Flash has been in a healthy place. The book is pretty entertaining and we have a really interesting story that has been developing. However, despite all the great things about it, it has been kind of falling in the middle of the road, quality wise. It hasn’t been bad by any stretch, but it hasn’t been great either. However, we left on an intriguing cliffhanger with all four of our force users gathered together and, due to the actions of Psych, they have begun to fight. The Black Flash is on their tails looking to kill the other force users aside from The Flash. So without our hero and his new “friends” locked in combat, let’s jump into this new issue and see where it takes us.

Our issue begins with some scene from Barry’s life. It seems that death has been following him for a long time, from when he lost his mother, to his job as a crime scene investigator, and now with Black Flash. Back in the present, Psych has used his powers to cause Steadfast to unleash his powers. During the fight Fuerza tries to take out Psych. However, he is able to create plenty of illusions to avoid her. Flash deals with Steadfast and while it seems that he has been caught, Flash uses the connection between the Still Force and the Speed Force to free Steadfast from Psych’s manipulation. However, Psych is able to get away and he is using the Sage Force in order to hide his presence. This paint a target on his back for the Black Flash. We cut to Malibu where it’s the morning after a party and Mirror Master is confronted by the Rogues. They ask him to join but he refuses. Captain Cold asks him where his sister is at and Mirror Master reveals that she left him. The Rogues leave him as they continue their search for Golden Glider.

Back in Central City, the remaining force users have gathered at Flash HQ to assess the situation. Commander Cold reveals that the Speed Force is indeed dying because of the other forces and Black Flash will try to kill the others in order to save it. Barry asks where Kid Flash and Avery are and Cold reveals that they have been dealing with the other Rogues that have been popping up recently. Barry beams with pride after hearing this. Cold has set up a tracking system that will alert them whenever the Black Flash appears on Earth again. Fuerza tries to come up with a plan to fight the Black Flash but Cold tells her that he’s the embodiment of death itself. He cannot be stopped, only delayed. Barry reveals his own plan. He’s going to try and prevent their deaths and once the Speed Force dies, so will Black Flash. He isn’t going to let anyone die just to save the Speed Force.

Fuerza and Steadfast insist on helping but Cold restrains them with his powers and that will give Barry time to deal with the situation. Just at that moment, the system gets an alert and Flash begins to run as fast as he can. In Scotland, we see Psych on top of a train car. He seems to think it’s a perfect hiding spot as he could stow away on it for years and no one would even know. As Flash closes the distance, he sees Black Flash racing toward the same place. With his speed being compromised, it isn’t long before Black Flash races past him. Psych sneaks into a cargo hold but is quickly found by the Black Flash and he tries to fight back. When Barry finally arrives, he finds the Black Flash standing over Psych’s body, which has been drained of it’s life. Psych is dead. This is where the issue leaves us.

This issue really brought this story to the next level. There’s lots of action for us to enjoy and the story elements are all really interesting. We further the relationship between Flash and the others force users and we find out his plan for dealing with the Black Flash, even if it means losing the Speed Force. We continues our side story with the Rogues and eventually it leads to a huge confrontation between Barry and the Black Flash as the two race to try and get to Psych first. However, the issue leaves us on a huge cliffhanger with major implications to the story and world of the Flash. Psych is dead, killed by the Black Flash and he’s faster than Barry now. Perhaps the Speed Force will get stronger now that one of the other force users is dead or perhaps Black Flash will be even more aggressive with one kill under his belt. This issue was great and had some amazing art in it. The story wasn’t bad before but it was just average. Now the quality has gone up and we can really sink our teeth into a great Flash story.

Bits and Pieces:

This issue raises the bar for the Flash comic, which was somewhere in the middle, quality wise. This new issue gives us great action, amazing art, interesting characters, and incredible story progression We even get a cliffhanger that has me already thinking about how the future issues will deal with the consequences. I can’t wait to read more.

8.0/10